The technology, born from Mast's fascination with a research paper describing a cyborg plant that could wheel itself toward light, relies on sensors attached to plant stems. The sensors, roughly the size of an iPhone, use stainless steel screws to tap into the cambium layer of a plant, reading microvolt changes as they happen. Data is sent wirelessly to a base station and processed by Bombadil in the cloud. The results are relayed to customers, who can then adjust watering, fertiliser or light schedules.
Mast claims the system can reduce water use by 20 percent or more while increasing yields. "This is tens of dollars," he said, contrasting the sensor cost with traditional equipment that runs into the thousands. "This is the most diverse model ever created on biological electrical signals," he added. "No one's ever done anything equivalent to this in the animal world."
Electric Plant's seed round was led by Onto Ventures and Climactic, with backing from more than half a dozen other investors including Ponderosa, Endeavor Catalyst and Michigan Rise. Mast said initial customers are in agriculture and forestry, though he declined to name them. The company plans to expand Bombadil's vocabulary to additional species over time.
While the concept of plant communication via electricity is established in plant physiology, Electric Plant claims its approach represents a leap forward in giving farmers continuous, real-time insight into what their crops need, rather than relying on soil probes or satellite imagery that offer an incomplete picture. "That technology is sophisticated, but its ability to get at the inside of the plant isn't very sophisticated," Mast said.
If the technology works at scale, it could offer a powerful tool for precision agriculture, especially as climate pressures mount. But the startup is still early stage, and its claims about yield and water savings have yet to be independently verified in large-scale trials.